Tilting flush valve for toilet



. Filed June 18. 1959 Oct. 10, 1961 F. c. ALEXANDER 3,003,156

TILTING FLUSH VALVE FOR TOILET 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 h 5 l9 .5 v

F r I 1 JNVENTOR.

7,5 Fred G Hlexander 1961 Fl c. ALEXANDER 'rmmc FLUSH VALVE FOR TOILET 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 18. 1959 FIG 3 INVENTQ Fred Cfllexandr BIG 5 Oct. 10, 1961 F. c. ALEXANDER 3,003,156

TIL-TING FLUSH VALVE FOR TOILET Filed June 18, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 L "IHHH "HIHHIHH" INVQNTOR. Heel afilexander BY m zibxnays United States Patent FLUSH VALVE- FOR TOILET Fi'ed Ci Alexander, NeWCastle, Pa;, assignor'to' Universal Rundle Gorporati'on; New Castle, Pa., a corporation oEDeIaware- Fil'ed J'une 18;. 1969,.SenxNn'. 821,187 1;4\laims; (931;.4960).

My invention relates to toilet flush. valves and more particularly to: discharge; valves for. toilet flush. tanks' or reservoirs oi the 'commorrtype=wherein-thevalve is. tripped.

or openedamanualiy resulting in gravity discharge of the contents; of. the tankintothev toilet: bowl associated therewith-, whereupon the flushvalve automatically closes, and the tank is automaticallyrefilled witliwater.

The improvement contemplated by my invention consists. of: a novel discharge. valve.- in combination with: an overflow. tube. My improved; valve is characterized in that. it is, hingedly mounted within the tank. asa. unit combined; withan over-flow tube. on, a-. horizontal axisand the. tripping thereof pivotsor tilts thevalveabout.itsaxisto efiect discharge ot the. tank-contents; associatedwith. the valve and tubeis hydrostatic. means to-restorethe. valve automatically to'its original closed position where. it nor.- mally, retains its seats by hydrostatic pressure until it is again manually tripped A particular advantage ofmy; invention is: that the. parts may.- be soproportioned' relative. to. each; other that all. or part. at the. tank contents may be discharged before.v the valveisre seated and-the tank refilled.

Further:- objects; at. my invention are to produce. a valve of: the character described which will; be-certain in operation, being; effectively retained in open position during the dischargeof the tank and firmly seated during the refilling of. the tank; which-.will. be relatively inexpensive to: produce,, trouble tree. and; generally satisfactory for the purposesdesired.

Various other objects; and. advantages will become apparent as the description'pnoceeds.

Referring now to. the drawings forming, a, part1. of. this specification. and showing a. preferred. embodiment oh my invention, v

FIG. 1 isiaperspect-ive view'of azvalve-embodying; my inventione together with. its; associated; parts, a flush. tank and a portion of the toilet bowl being shown in dot-dash lines;

EIGa2=iss aside elevation of the valve shown-.in FIG; 1 the. associatedfiuslzr tanlc and: bowl being; shown frag: mentarily intvertical section;

FKL. 3 is. an elevationalviewof the valve'in open: or flushing position the flush tank being fragmentarily'indiv cated' indot-dash. lines;

FIG. 4. is a topplarr v-iewof the valve;

FIG. 5 is elevational view oi the same viewed from theleft" of FIGS-.2 and14-;; i 7

FIG, dis a: sectional; view takensubstantially along the line 66 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7-" is. an: explodedperspective. view of. the valve, on a reduced scale; a

FIG, 8 is;- a. sectionrelevation of a modified forum of flnshvalve embodying: my invention, shown. in: full lines in tilted or open position: and. in dot-dash lines inclosed position, and

9 is. attopplani view 013 the flush valve. shown. in FIG. 8;.

The character T represents; a: flush tank, which may be of standard type, associated with a toilet bowl having a flange F; the tank beingsecured to the flange F by any suitable-means, suchas bolts andnuts-B;

The tank '1 and toilet bowl'flange have aligned aper tures O and 0;; for passage of a spud l t), gasket 12' ice 2; and nut, 13 being disposed" on. the. spud. and. interposed betweenthe tank. and. bowl.

A- collar 15 is. disposed. on the spud 10. at its upper extremity, said. collar having integral laterally extending perforated ears. 18 and lugs 19 having diagonally sloping surfaces for. limiting pivotal movement of the valve, as hereinafter described. Said. collar provides a seat. for the. valve,,as seen-:in FIGS. 2, 3., 6.and' 7..

A. unitary flush valve: assembly embodying, my invention, indicated generally by the character V, is pivotally attachedto; the spud: inthe following; manner, said assembly including; a valve, overflow conduit. and" counterbalancing means. l prov-idea U- or stirrupshaped; lockingmember ztl havingoutwardly extending: alined pintles 22 j ournaled: in laterally opposed apertures. formed in the ears; 18,, said pintl'es; 22? also extending. through. similarly disposed apertures formed in legs 25- projecting. laterally from oppositegsidesxof. the bottom portiorrof valveassembly The, ears. 18 are: disposed. between. the legs of lockingmember 20: and-the. legs;25i of valve. assembly V, the. latter'being on the: outside: and the locking member'on the inside, as seen: best. in:EIG;. 5.

The locking. member 20 preferably is formedoft'empered; metal or suitable plasticsuch as nylond etc., having suflicient' resilience to. exert pressure-in-an outward or. lateral; direction in order to assure retaining of the parts: in assembled. relation by means of the pintles 22 in spite ofanyturbulenceinthe tank.

Thevalve: assembly V, except asexpressly' stated to the contrary; is: preferably molded of a suitable synthetic plastic materials of acomposition especially selected so that its: specific gravity is close to that of'water, as for example in the range of 1104 to 1106. A suitable mate'- rial which will meet this requirement may be obtained readily: on the market and, may be of a. well known medium-impactpolystyrene or'other'sui'table type. of moldable plastic.

The valve assembly V comprises an over-flow tube 30 normally disposed vertically when. the valve. is closed.

the upper extremity of tube 30 is secured a, counterweight-shield in the form. of a disk 32 of suitable metal oftlie desired specific gravity and of such size. and weight as to provide a counterweight for purposes hereinafter described. The upper extremity of "the. tube provided with side-Qpening-SS'forpassage of water...

At the lower-portion of valve assembly V and outside of the tube 30" I provide. a pair of receptacles indicated generally by the numerals 38, 39'. It will. be. noted that these receptacles 38and 39" are separated, from eachother by means of transverse" walls 40, 40. and that the. receptaclesare closed at the bottom and sides, the. top edge of the sidewall of receptacle 3S sloping, upwardly asseen at 43 when the valve is in closed position,. as. seen in FIGS. 2 and 6. A relatively small orifice 45 is. provided near the bottom ofreceptacle 38 for escape 01 water...

Below the receptacles and concentric, with overflow tube 30" is an annularl'y grooved boss. 44 seating. a valve disc'46 of flexible rubber or the like which normally rests on the seat" provided by collar 15'. when the valve is closed (FIGS; 3; 5: and 6).

Attached to the upper portion of receptacle. 39 is. a flexible pullcord 47, chain, etc., the. latter being attached at its upper end to a trip lever 50 controlled from. outside the tank as by a crank 52' or other suitable manual. con: trol.

Allscrdisposed within the tank T'is suitable filling means which maybe of standard type, such as an inlet pipe 60 provided with a suitable valve 63. controlled by the, usual Heat 65''.

In operation, when the tank T is full of water the receptacles 38 and 39' will likewise normally be full. When the valve is tripped by actuation of the lever 50,

the valve assembly will be tilted to the open position seen sirable to retain the valve in open position by the weight of element 32 because of the substantially weightless character of the plastic material chosen for the valve assembly V, as explained above, and despite any turbulence in the tank above the spud either in the escape or refilling action.

While the valve is open, the water of chamber 38 will bleed through orifice 45 until the combined weight of counterweight 32 and the other parts is so reduced as to be counterbalanced by that of the water remaining in chamber 39, whereupon the valve assembly V will snap back about pintles 22 to re-establish a firrnlyseated closed position, as in FIG. 2. 'It is apparent that chamber 39 together with the water therein constitutes a weight means which biases the valve assembly to the closed position. It will also be appreciated that counterweight 32 is mounted so that when the assembly is in the closed position, the counterweight is on one side of the axis of tilting defined by pintles 22 and when the assembly is in the open flushing position, the counterweight is on the other side of the axis of tilting. In the closed position, the valve closing means defined by valve disc 46 is seated on the valve seat defined by collar 15 while in the open position, the valve closing means is spaced from said valve seat.

FIGS. 8 and 9 show a combination valve assembly embodying the same principle as the embodiment of FIGS. 1-7, in a modified form. In this case the ,valve assembly unit indicated generally by the notation V comprises an over-flow tube 30' with an annular collar 70 formed of metal or other suitable and relatively heavy material, of such size and weight as to function as a counterbalance to retain the valve unit in tilted position in a manner similar to element 32 of the other embodiment. The tube 30' is preferably molded of suitable plastic as in the previously described embodiment.

Preferably molded integrally with tube 30' is a cuplike portion 75 encompassing tube 30' and having more or less diametrical partitions 76, 76 extending from the outside of tube 30' to the inner wall of cup-portion 75 so as to divide the latter into two generally similar semicylindrical chambers 78, 78'. The wall of chamber 78 is perforated adjacent the bottom, as at 80, to permit escape of a major portion of the water from chamber 78 when the valve is tilted, as seen in full lines in FIG. 8. Another orifice 82 is provided near the top of chamber 78 to permit egress of water from said chamber.

" It will be understood that the positioning and size of orifices 80 and 82 are so adjusted, in relation to the weight of counterbalance 70 as to provide a wide latitude of control in timing the automatic closure of the valve.

This embodiment of my invention operates on the same principle as the one previously described, in that the valve is tilted for flushing by means of a crank actuator of the usual type, the tilting movement of the valve unit, as in the previous embodiment, being limited by a stop 85 provided at the top of spud 10'. The water contents of chamber 78 will be bled through orifice 80 to the point where the weight of the water in chamber 78' below orifice 82 will be sufficient to counterbalance the weight of the valve assembly and will automatically restore the valve to seated postion.

In accordance with my invention the seating action of the valve is quick and positive. On the other hand, when the valve is open the counterweight at the top of the over-flow tube will tend to retain the valve firmly open, despite any turbulence in the escaping water, until the counter movement closing the valve goes into operation.

In either embodiment the means provided for pivotally supporting and limiting the tilting movement of the valve unit may be a separate collar attached to the discharge spud or may be integral with the spud.

In all embodiments my invention permits a wide degree of flexibility of control in timing the closing action of the valve, by correlating the tube counterweight with the other elements of the valve assembly, such as position and size of discharge orifice, etc. Furthermore, all embodiments of my invention provide a completely non-buoyant flush valve unit as distinguished from previously known flush valves which ordinarily depend on a buoyancy factor for effective operation.

Various changes coming within the spirit of my invention may suggest themselves to those skilled in the art. Hence, I do not wish to be limited to the specific embodiments shown and described or uses mentioned, but intend the same to be merely exemplary, the scope of my invention being limited only by the appended claims.

I claim: I

1. In combination, an assembly of the class described comprising an overflow tube having a discharge outlet and valve closing means at the bottom thereof, a first water reservoir and a second water reservoir disposed on opposite sides of said tube and adjacent the lower portion thereof, both of said reservoirs having a relatively large opening at the top and together encompassing said tube, said second reservoir also having an orifice adjacent its bottom, a tank discharge spud having a valve seat near the top thereof, means pivotally mounting said assembly to the upper portion of said tank discharge spud to provide for tilting of said assembly about a horizontal axis between a closed position towards said first reservoir wherein said valve closing means is seated on said valve seat and an open flushing position towards said second reservoir wherein said valve closing means is spaced from said valve seat, and counterweight means mounted on said tube adjacent the top thereof to retain the assembly in the open flushing position when moved thereto with both reservoirs filled with water, said counterweight means being counter-balanced by the water in the first reservoir as the water in the second reservoir escapes through said orifice to tilt the assembly to the closed position.

2. The combination of claim 1, wherein the tube and reservoirs are integrally formed of moldable material.

3. The combination of claim 2, wherein the molded material is a synthetic plastic having a specific gravity close to 1, so that the valve is substantially weightless in water.

4. The combination of claim 2, wherein the reservoirs have a substantially continuous Wall spaced outwardly from the tube with coplaner transverse partitions lying substantially in the plane of the tube axis and connecting opposite sides of the tube with said wall, said partitions separating the reservoirs from each other.

5. The combination of claim 4, wherein said means pivotally mounting said assembly comprises a pair of parallel, normally horizontal arms integral with and projecting laterally from the lower portion of the tube, said arms providing pivotally rockable support means for said assembly.

6. The combination of claim 5, having laterally extending means carried by said tank-discharge spud and cooperating with said arms for pivotally mounting the valve, and means on said laterally extending means for limiting the tilting movement of the valve.

7. The combination of claim 2, wherein said means pivotally mounting said assembly comprises a pair of parallel arms extending laterally from the lower portion of said assembly and providing means for rockably supporting the assembly.

8. The combination of claim 7, wherein said discharge spud has means extending laterally from the upper portion thereof and cooperating with said supporting arms for pivotally mounting the assembly on said spud.

9. The combination of claim 8, with stop means on said assembly-mounting means for limiting the pivotal movement of the assembly from valve-closing position.

10. The combination of claim 2 wherein said valve closing means is annular and is disposed below said reservoir and concentric with said tube.

11. A combination as in claim 1 wherein the first reservoir has a discharge orifice disposed a relatively slight distance below the top opening thereof.

12. The combination of claim 1 wherein said counterweight means is mounted so that, in said closed position, it is on one side of the axis of tilting and so that, in the open position, it is on the other side of the axis of tilting.

13. In combination, an assembly of the class described comprising an overflow tube having a discharge outlet and a valve closing means at the bottom thereof, a water reservoir and a weight means disposed on opposite sides of said tube and adjacent the lower portion thereof, said reservoir having a relatively large opening at the top thereof, said reservoir also having an orifice adjacent its bottom, a tank discharge spud having a valve seat near the top thereof, means pivotally mounting said assembly to the upper portion of said tank discharge spud to provide for tilting of said assembly about a horizontal axis between a closed position toward said weight means wherein said valve closing means is seated on said valve seat and an open flushing position toward said reservoir wherein said valve closing means is spaced from said valve seat, and counterweight means mounted on said tube adjacent the top thereof to retain the assembly in the open flushing position when moved thereto with said reservoir filled with water, said counterweight means being counterbalanced by said weight means as the water in the said reservoir escapes through said orifice to tilt the assembly to the closed position.

14. The combination of claim 13 wherein said counterweight means is mounted so that, in said closed position, it is on one side of the axis of tilting and so that, in the open position, it is on the other side of the axis of tilting.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATE/NTS 363,166 Platt May 17, 1887 2,528,556 Schulz Nov. 7, 1950 2,773,268 Hurko et al. Dec. 11, 1956 

